Pat Harper
As It Was ContributorPat Harper is the archivist for the Southern Oregon Historical Society, where she digitizes records, manages websites and learns more about regional history from the SOHS volunteers. After receiving her Master’s Degree in library science from the University of Illinois in 1980, Harper worked as a reference librarian, then as a library administrator. From 1994 to 2005, she was the Siskiyou County library director and lived in the country near Hornbrook, California. Pat and her husband moved to San Rafael, Calif., in 2005 to begin their sailing adventures, and after three years they took an 18-month voyage on their sailboat, Ecos. Now they enjoy a more settled life in Medford, and cruise the Caribbean during winter months.
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It’s difficult to describe Wes Howard. He’s been called a curmudgeon, hermit and hoarder. Others say he was sincere, friendly, helpful, charitable and an…
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Gus Newbury was the Jackson County school superintendent for seven years, followed by a successful law career. In spite of Newbury’s prestige, his friend…
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The actress Grace Andrews married Conro Fiero in Medford in 1910. When their orchard crop failed in 1914, he found a diplomatic job in Washington, D. C.,…
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As the Southern Oregon Historical Society celebrates 70 years of service to Southern Oregon, it acknowledges the contributions of thousands of volunteers,…
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B. F. Miller wrote that one day in the spring of 1855 when he was with 100 or 200 other men at the Sterling Mine, eight miles from Jacksonville , they…
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An early Methodist preacher in the Rogue Valley, Thomas Fletcher Royal, faced danger bravely.Perhaps his worst day was on Feb. 27, 1854, when Canyon Creek…
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Susannah Mask, believed to be the third child of Dudley Mask of North Carolina and his slave, Nellie, became an Oregon pioneer in 1852.Another slave owner…
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Among those honored by the Siskiyou Smokejumper Base Museum is Allen Owen, known by his fellow parachute firefighters as Mouse.Owen was 4 feet 11 inches…
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From the time Robert Ruhl and his wife Mabel arrived in 1911, they were distinguished members of Medford society. Robert was a journalist who became…
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Mrs. P. J. Ryan died in 1913 in an asylum in Salem, Ore., where she had been placed one year after she was widowed because her dementia “had developed a…
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Growing up in a mining cabin could have been a grim experience lacking in educational or cultural opportunities, but Rose Opp was a determined mother.…
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W. J. Bennet moved to Roseburg, Ore., in 1892, and became its first architect. After designing the original Old Soldiers Home and other Roseburg…